(Entry 4) Gender Roles

I've never played a male character.
There I've said it. Even though I've had the ultimate freedom of internet anonymity, I've never taken that step to create a character of the opposite gender Talking with Scott about this, I tried to dig down a little deeper.
Much of what I do is not gaming. I engage in virtual worlds, explore online communities, and some times play simulation games. Talking with a fellow SL player, I was discussing my gender issue. This friend expresses himself in SL as both a male and a female avatar, and often finds it easier to express himself as his female avatar. When approaching an avatar for the first time, I think about the purpose of the avatar. In something like Neopets the name of my avatar means little. Little interaction happens between players so I don't feel like much of a connection to the created character. I don't feel that I have to take on a role, and that I don't have to create a plasusible character.
In other arenas like SL, I've been able to create multiple characters, but feel ackward creating a male character. The characters I create are always an extension of myself, different parts of me that I explore. Perhaps its the social interaction that something like SL has/is. I've never felt the need to explore my masculinity through a game character. I don't know if I could adaquetly play a male character. Yet if the game doesnt have a social interaction why does it make a difference? If it is goal oriented, and the character is secondary would it make a difference if I rolled a different gender?
I'm not sure where I stand, I just know that it is difficult for me to play a different gender.